Proposed table syntax (again)

[Michel Fortin]

I just had an idea.

The syntax I proposed back then when Shaun Inman started the discussion  
on tables has one (fatal?) flaw.

	First Name      Last Name       URL
	-----------------------------------------------------------------
	Jeffrey         Zeldman         <http://www.zeldman.com/>
	John            Gruber          <http://www.daringfireball.net/>
	Joshua          Davis           <http://www.joshuadavis.com/>
	
	
	Title                   Description
	===============================================================
	Long lines              This is a multiple line cell because
	                        the content cannot enter on one line
	                        only.
	---------------------------------------------------------------
	No subject.             No need for a description.
	---------------------------------------------------------------

If you find these tables nice, it's because you look at them with a  
fixed-width font. The result is really awful using a proportional font.  
This may not be so bad for tables in Markdown as long as you edit the  
text using a fixed-width font. The problem is that many (most?)  
weblog/website editors do use proportional font as the default  
(MovableType?). So, while it's good-looking with fixed-width, many  
users will have a hard time making tables with this syntax.

Here is a table aligned using spaces with the Helvetica font on a Mac:

	First Name    Last Name     URL
	 
------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
---------
	Jeffrey            Zeldman       <http://www.zeldman.com/>
	John               Gruber          <http://www.daringfireball.net/>
	Joshua           Davis            <http://www.joshuadavis.com/>

It doesn't look good with a fixed-width font, and is also mostly  
impossible to work with this syntax from a programming point of view.

Some people argue that the table needed to be separated with `|` pipes.  
I think this is the only way to do it right if we want to work with  
proportional fonts. But pipes add clutter so they must be used  
carefully.

* * *

So here is my new proposed syntax:

	First Name   |  Last Name    |  URL
	-----------------------------------------------------------------
	Jeffrey      |  Zeldman      |  <http://www.zeldman.com/>
	John         |  Gruber       |  <http://www.daringfireball.net/>
	Joshua       |  Davis        |  <http://www.joshuadavis.com/>
	
	
	Title                |  Description
	===============================================================
	Long lines           |  This is a multiple line cell because
	                     |  the content cannot enter on one line
	                     |  only.
	---------------------------------------------------------------
	No subject.          |  No need for a description.


This syntax works well in a proportional-font web editor, but it still  
manage to stay low on clutter. It is also better for backward  
compatibility because headers rarely contain pipes in them, and I  
suspect headers with a pipe followed by a paragraph with a pipe in it  
would be really hard to find.

Also, many people want to be able to make header cells on the left  
side. I would allow them to exist by making the first column separator  
double pipes. This is what it looks like (with and without top  
headers):

	          ||  Solution A    |  Solution B    |  Solution C
	-------------------------------------------------------------
	Name      ||  Go away       |  Go there      |  Go back
	Price     ||  $242          |  $484          |  Priceless

	------------------------------------------
	Size     ||  Small   |  Medium  |  Large
	Price    ||  $2.42   |  $4.84   |  $10.12

This would also work with the multiple-line-per-cell table syntax, like  
this:

	=========================================================
	Protocol    ||  TCP/IP           |  AppleTalk
	---------------------------------------------------------
	Use         ||  The Internet;    |  Local networks,
	            ||  local networks.  |  (work only between
                 ||                   |  Macintosh computers)
	---------------------------------------------------------
	Company     ||  Many.            |  Apple Computer inc.


One drawback of this syntax is that it is not possible to make a table  
with only one column.


Michel Fortin
michel.fortin at michelf.com
http://www.michelf.com/